William henry nichols steed



No. 6|9,053. Patented Feb; 7, I899 W.'H. N. STEED.

SCORING BOARD FOR CYCLING OR OTHER SPORTS.

(Application filed Oct. 5 1897.) y

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' W. H. N. STEED.

SCURING BUARD FUR CYCLING OR OTHER SPORTS.

(Application filed Oct. 5, 1897.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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' ywaz attarne UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HENRY NICHOLS STEED, OF ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

SCORING-BOARD FOR CYCLING OR OTHER SPORTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 619,053, dated February '7, 1899.

Application filed October 5, 1897. Serial No. 654,161. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,WILLIAM HENRY NICH- OLs STEED, clerk, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of Eagle Chambers, King William street, Adelaide, in the Colony of South Australia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Scoring-Boards for Cycling or other Sports, (for which I have obtained patents in South Australia, No. 3,077, dated November 2, 1895; in Victoria, No. 12,647, dated November 6, 1895, and in New South Wales,No. 6,174, dated November 7, 1895,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for exhibiting the results of races and other information connected therewith.

The object of my invention is to enable the results and particulars in question to be exhibited more quickly and completely than heretofore to spectators all around an oval or race-course upon a board situated preferably centrally within the oval or course and to enable this to be done with a much smaller amount of labor than hitherto. The manipulation of my board may be done with great ease and rapidity by one or two men.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, Iwill describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a view of one face, and. Fig. 2 is a view of the other face, of the board, showing on both sides the number of the event, the time of starting, the scratchings, the numbers of the winners, and the time taken in the race. Fig. 3 shows the board upon its pivot or pedestal before being used, the apertures which receive the dual-faced plates or cards being vacant. Fig. 4 is a plan of a stiffeningframe which is applied to the bottom of the board, and Fig. 5 is an inverted plan of a stiffening-frame which is applied to the top of the board.

The base 10 may be of any desired form, on which is arranged a vertical spindle 11. This spindle is secured to the base 10 by bars or brackets 12 or otherwise and has its body 16, having pendent lugs or tongues 17 entering the recesses or grooves in the upper edge of the ring 18, the rings being secured to the board by the bars or arms 19, while the jour nal 14 comprises two opposed members or jaws having ears and bolts as securing means, which when bolted together form a complete ring, serving with the rings 16 and 18 to hold the board 15 rotatable on the spindle 11.

In order to simplify the construction of the device and permit the same to be readily moved from place to place, the board 15 may consist of two parts or members, as 20 and 20, to each of which are secured one of the rings and one member of the journals 13 and 14, respectively. The members of the board, as shown, have the frames 21 and 22 for stiffening and strengthening purposes. These frames are substantially the same in construction, and each consists of a two-part bar 23, having projecting lips or lugs 24, adapted to span the edges of the members of the board, to which they may be removably secured by suitable bolts 25, as shown in Fig. 3. The parts of the bar 23 are connected by opposed angular braces 26, which are secured at or near the angles thereof by thecross-braces 27 to the inner ends of each part of the bar. The frames as thus constructed are substan= tially diamond shape in form and provide open spaces adapted to fit over the spindle 11 and rigidly hold the members of the board apart.

The two faces of the board 15 are partitioned into spaces according to the particulars which are required to be exhibited. In order to enable both faces of the board to be utilized while only requiring one set of plates to be posted, the partitioning and permanent lettering is arranged in relation to a number of openings,so that the numbers of the scratchings or starters for the race and the numbers of the winners of the race may each be shown on dual-faced plates or cards, as at 28-that is, plates or cards which have the same number, respectively,upon either face-which are held in grooves 29 along the top and the bottom of the openings in the board. The member 20 of the board has two openings 30 for the plates 28 to indicate the scratchings or starters, and the member 20 has four smaller openings 31 for similar plates to indicate the winners. It will be seen from examination of the drawings that the face of the board shown in Fig. 1 displays the same numbers of scratchings or starters and the same numbers of winners as the other face of the board, which is shownin Fig. 2, only in different position in relation to the other and permanent lettering, which are painted upon each face of the board and which answer for every race. The dual-faced plates or cards might bear the competitors names instead of numbers; but this would require new sets of plates for each race and a very much larger board.

Should it be desired to display the num bers of the starters in place of the scratchings-for instance, in a final heat-the word Scratchings would be covered by a plate bearing the word Starters. In the case of a Dead-heat or Protest the information can be conveyed by hanging a plate displaying the necessary word where required.

In assembling the device the base 10, with its spindle 11, is secured to the ground by pegs or otherwise and the stiffening-frame 22 placed over the spindle, with the lugs 24 extending upward. The members of the board are then placed in position, the ring 18 being first passed over the spindle and then the ring 16, after which the two members or jaws of the journal 14 are secured together, so as to hold the board rotatable on the spindle. At this time the frame 21 may be slipped over the spindle in position to have the lugs thereof engage the upper edge of the board and, together with the frame 22, may be secured to the members of the board by bolts 25. The board may be taken apart for transportation or storage purposes by reversing the operation just described.

The dial-hands 32 upon the clock-faces are set separately on each side for each event, and separate plates 33, bearing the number of the event, are held to the opposite faces of the board by grooved ribs 84, and the plates 35, bearing the time taken in the race, are also separately held to the opposite faces of the board by the grooved ribs 36.

The board may be made of any convenient size, according to the distance from which the information is required to be read, and may be extended downwardly or otherwise,

and additional information pertaining to the events exhibited by means of suitable permanent printed matter, openings, and plates upon the same method as that herein described. Portions of the board may be utilized for displaying advertisements either by meansof permanent lettering or by means of plates or cards.

In some of the best appliances heretofore known for exhibiting results and other information to large gatherings of people a three or four sided frame situated in the center of the oval has been employed which requires for the greatest celerity in manipulation as many men as there are sides to fix the numbers. By my invention the result is obtained with equal celerity by the operation of one man, who places the dual-faced plates in the grooves at the top and bottom of the openings, and thus by the placing of one plate the information is exhibited on two sides, and by gently turning the board as and when required the information is readable from all parts of the oval, so that every spectator has the opportunity of seeing the complete results.

The board may be slowly rotated continuously, or it may be moved through a quarter of a revolution at stated times by any convenient handle or other connection. A simple and convenient method of holding and rorating the board is a cord attached at its center to one of the corners of the board.

It will be seen that the whole appliance is portable and can be placed at any desired position, preferably near the center of the oval, and since it is supported upon the vertical spindle it may be turned into such aposition that all the spectators may obtain a clear view without obstruction of any particularly important point-such, for instance, as the finishing-mark.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. In a scoring-board for exhibiting the result of races, the combination with a suitable spindle and support therefor, of a two-part board having suitable openings therethrough, and plates or cards displaying the same information on both sides adapted to be removably held in the openings in the board, substantially as described.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a suitable spindle and asupport therefor, a two-part board having suitable openings therethrough journaled on said spindle, substantially diamond-shaped stifieningframes arranged at the upper and lower edges of the board for removably and rigidly securing the parts thereof together, and'information plates or cards adapted to be removably held in the openings in the board, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the kind described, the combin ation with a suitable spindle and a support therefor, of a two-part board having suitable openings therethrough, plates or cards arranged in the openings, and journals comprising two members removably held together and fitting over the spindle so as to revolubly and removably hold the parts of the board to said spindle, substantially as described.

4c. In a device of the kind described, the combination with a suitable spindle and a support therefor, of-a two-part board having suitable openings therethrough, plates or cards arranged in the openings, journals comprising two members removably held together and fitting over the spindle so as to revolubly IIO my invention I have signed my name, in the presence of two witnesses, this 16th day of August, 1897.

WILLIAM HENRY NICHOLS STEED. Witnesses:

CHARLES NICHOLAS OoLLIsoN, ARTHUR GORE COLLISON. 

